Tire.



.No. 642,358. Patented Ian. 30, I900.

u. A. mnnLsTom TIRE.

(Application filed Nov. 28, 1899.]

' gm) Model.)

- five/2%)? W zW Wkwvw- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. MIDDLETON, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

TIRE.

fiPEOIFICATION forming Lettersiatent-NorGQSg-BH, thted'a'anuary 39, 199% Application filed November 28,1899. Serial No. 738,530. (No model.)

To all wig/om, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. MIDDLETON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tires, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in tires, and more particularly to that class known as pneumatic tires, one object being to provide one or more strips of punctureless material in the tire, thus rendering the tire puncture proof, the strip or strips of punctureless material being composed of such materials as will not impair the resiliency of the tire to any material degree.

A further object is to thicken the side walls of the air-tn be portion of the tire, so as to matertaiiysti'engthenthesides of'the tire, so that if the tire should be ridden deflated the lie,-

' bility of the tire tobeeome cracked along its sides is obviated.

With these ends in View my invention consists in providing the tire with one or more strips of puncture-proof material which may be either embedded in the walls gt a singletube tire between the air-tube portion and the sheath or inserted between the inner and outer tubes of a double-tube tire, which strip is composed of a flexible fabric treated with a mixture of comminuted fiber, rubber,.sulfur, litharge, antimony, and a coloring materialsuch, for instance, as Vermilion.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings,

in which- Figure 1 represents in cross-section a pneu-, matic tire of the single-t ube type havingthree layers or strips of my improved punctureless material embedded therein between the airtube and the tubular sheath. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of portions of three of my improved punctureless strips-such, forinstance, as the three strips which are represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the same.

.The air-tube of the tire is denoted by A, and it is preferably made of a soft. rubber, the side walls of the air-tube being thickened to strengthen the sides of the tire. Thisairtube portion of the tire presents in cross-section a circular inner wall and an elliptical outer wall.

The tubular sheath is denoted by B, and a number of rows of fabric 0 are embedded in the tire between the air-tube portion A and the tubular sheath. The walls of the sheath are preferably thickened along the tread portion of the tire, as shown.

'1 embed in the tire between the air-tube portion and the tubular sheath one or more strips of punctureless material. In the accompanying drawings I have represented three of these strips, the widest strip (denoted by D) being located between, the inner layer of fabric and the outer wall of the air-tube portion, the strip being of sufiicieut width to extend from the tread portion upwardly aroiindboth sides of the air-tube portion, so as to render the sides punctureless and also stiffen them. A second strip D, of considerably less width than the strip D, is embedded between the layers of fabric along the tread portion of the tire, and a third strip D is embedded between the layers of fabric along the tread portion of the tire, which lastnamed strip is of a little less width than the strip D.

To produce a strip which will be non-puncturable and at the same time retain to the highest degree its resiliency and pliability,

so asnot to affect the resiliency of the tire to any material degree, I proceed in the following manner: 'I mix fiber in a comminuted form-such, for instance, as manila fiberwithiubber llllhS soft state. I add thereto sulfur for the purpose of vulcauizing the rubber and fiber. To this mixture I add lime and litharge to toughen the same. -I also add an-' timony, which serves the double purpose of toughening and also assisting the'sulfur in binding the.mixture. To this mixture, if so desired, I may add a coloring-mattersuch,. for instance, as Vermilion-to imparta distinguishing color to the strip. v The proportions of the several parts of the composition which I find produce good results are as follows: comminuted fiber, thirty pounds; rubber, eight pounds; sulfur, four pounds; lime, four pounds; litharge, three tot pounds; antim0ny,-one pound; and a coloring-matter--as, for instance, Vermilion-mnequarter pound.

The mixture above describedis caused .to thoroughlyimpregnate and coat a sheet offab- ,ric, preferably by starting withv thesheet of fabric upon a roll and addingthe several parts of the mi'xtnretheretoand causing the roll to be engaged :by another roll-for: spreading the mixture evenly to the T desired width. The sheet of punctureless material thus formed may be cut u p into strips of thede'sired widths. These strips-may be embedded in the walls of a tire of the single; tnbe type, as represented in the accompanying drawings, or they may be used' 'separately wherever it is desired to place a punctureless strip or protector.

What-I claim is 1. The combination witha pneumatic tire,

of a punctureless strip inserted in its wall, the said 'st-rip comprising a fabric impregnated and'coated with a layer of comminutedfiber, rubber, a toughening material, such as lith arge'an'd a binder, such as sulfur or antimony.

2. A puncturelesslstrip for tires comprising a fabric impregnated and coated with a mixture composed ofcomminute'd fiber, rubber,

a toughening material, such as lit-barge, and

a binder, such as sulfur or antimony.

3. A punctureless strip for tires comprising a fabric impregnated and coated with a mixture composed of comminuted fiber, rubber,

lltharge, antimony and sulfur.

4. A punctureless strip for tires comprising a fabric impregnated and coated with a mixture composed of oomminuted fiber, rubber,. litharge, antimony, sulfur and lime.

5. A punctureless strip fortires comprising a fabric impregnated and coated with a comminuted fiber, rubber, a toughening material,

such as litharge, a binder, such as sulfur o'r antimony, and'a coloring material, such as Vermilion. V i

6. In a pneumatic tire comprising a tubular sheath, an air-tube and one or more layers of'fabric interposed between the sheath and air-tube, the said air-tube having its side walls materially thickened to strengthen the tire at those points, substantially as set forth.

. m y invcntion I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 4th day of November, 1899.

=HENRY A. MIDDLETON.

\Vitnesses:

C. H. WALTERS, GEO. W. SHIVELEY. 

